[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Towards more consistent terminology in the web client

Thu Aug 16 19:10:15 EDT 2018

Hello all,

Very happy to see the term "Holding" getting some traction.  I would also
agree that changing the record-level "Add Copies" button to "Add Holdings"
makes a lot of sense!

Furthermore, after 9 days of suspense, I have finally found time to unveil
the one term I feel has been misused in Evergreen since the beginning:
volume!  Hopefully there are some like-minded folks to whom this is no
surprise.  To others, I offer the following somewhat long explanation, and
also to help the busy and impatient, here is the summary conclusion.
"Volume" is a word for a physical thing (i.e. something with "volume"), and
we already have two established words for that (item/copy), so it is of no
obvious use to us.  Volume, be gone!

You may be thinking that's just, like, my opinion, so to that I offer the
following quote from the American Library Association Fact Sheet:

"The ARL *academic library* study takes its definition of volume from
the National
Information Standards Organization <http://www.niso.org/> (NISO): A single
physical unit of any printed, typewritten, handwritten, mimeographed, or
processed work, distinguished from other units by a separate binding,
encasement, portfolio, or other clear distinction, which has been *cataloged,
classified, and made ready for use*, and which is typically the unit used
to charge circulation transactions."

With this single quote, we've got the ALA, the ARL (Association of Research
Libraries), and NISO all agreeing on usage of the term "volume" to be the
physical "things" in our library collections.  That's some pretty good
authority, I think.  And when the ALA Fact Sheet then tells us the Library
of Congress has 34,528,818 "volumes held", they mean 34,528,818 physical
things, and we all generally understand that usage without difficulty.  It
certainly doesn't mean "call numbers", and it doesn't mean something
conceptual.  It is simply the separate units of stuff they have collected
and organized.

So, if this is the case, why does "volume" as it is currently used in
Evergreen feel right to so many of us?  Stockholm syndrome, of course.
Actually, the way we use it isn't *totally* wrong, and since some of us
have now been using this term "the Evergreen way" for 10+ years, it has
become a bit ingrained and entrenched.  It also just shorter and easier to
use and say than "call number" even when we really just mean "call
number".  I, too, am guilty of such things.

Finally, the term "volume" also brings some additional baggage when it
comes to parts.  Since the most common *label* for a part is "volume
[xyz]", sometime we casually refer to a part as a "volume".  To this, I can
only say that even volumes not labeled "volume" are volumes, so let's not
trip ourselves over thinking that "volume" belongs to parts in any
meaningful way.

My feelings, in summary:
1) "Holding" should be our general term as much as possible.  It simply
means anything we provide access to.
2) Our circulating units should be labeled "Item" or "Copy".  My slight
preference is for "Item", but I don't think "Copy" has any major problems
being understood when used in this way.
3) We should keep using the term "Call Number" for the actual call number,
of course, but in many places "Holding" will slide in and work fine.
3) "Volume" is tainted, and it would be best to quit cold-turkey.  It is
hard to imagine us strictly using it as ALA/ARL/NISO have defined it, and
we can live without it.

Now, some of the above is rhetoric; I can also imagine a path forward where
we keep "volume", since no label is going to allow software to perfectly
fit reality.  But I do feel that path will require a little more finesse
and discipline, and that moving away is ultimately the easier road.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Dan

On Thu, Aug 16, 2018 at 5:21 PM, Kathy Lussier <klussier at masslnc.org> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm sending along a reminder to please fill out this survey by tomorrow if
> you haven't done so already. We've received 97 responses so far!
>
> https://goo.gl/forms/jZeADWhF9u7ilM072
>
> Kathy
>
>
> --
> Kathy Lussier
> Project Coordinator
> Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
> (508) 343-0128klussier at masslnc.org
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 10, 2018 at 1:28 PM, Kathy Lussier <klussier at masslnc.org>
> wrote:
>
>> As promised, here is the link to the survey for gauge community opinion
>> on these terms.
>>
>> https://goo.gl/forms/jZeADWhF9u7ilM072
>>
>> I see the survey as a way to set a general direction for which terms we
>> want to use.  Once we have that direction, I think we can dive into the
>> details more to see if there are specific instances where we shouldn't be
>> changing a term because it has a slightly different meaning or context.
>>
>> I'll keep the survey open until next Friday.
>>
>> Thanks all!
>> Kathy
>>
>> --
>> Kathy Lussier
>> Project Coordinator
>> Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
>> (508) 343-0128klussier at masslnc.org
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Aug 10, 2018 at 11:29 AM, Mary Llewellyn <mllewell at biblio.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> +1 for holdings and Sarah!
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 10, 2018 at 9:19 AM, Deborah Luchenbill <
>>> deborah at mobiusconsortium.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> +1, Sarah!  I like Holdings for that label.
>>>>
>>>> Debbie Luchenbill
>>>> Evergreen Coordinator
>>>> MOBIUS
>>>> 111 E. Broadway, Ste. 220
>>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=111+E.+Broadway,+Ste.+220+Columbia,+MO+%C2%A065203&entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>> Columbia, MO  65203
>>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=111+E.+Broadway,+Ste.+220+Columbia,+MO+%C2%A065203&entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>> debbie at mobiusconsortium.org <deborah at mobiusconsortium.org>
>>>> 573-234-4914
>>>> https://mobiusconsortium.org <http://mobiusconsortium.org>
>>>> Missouri Evergreen Help Desk: help at mobiusconsortium.org / 877-312-3517
>>>> http://libraries.missourievergreen.org
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Aug 10, 2018 at 7:08 AM, Elaine Hardy <
>>>> ehardy at georgialibraries.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> +1 Sarah!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> J. Elaine Hardy
>>>>> PINES & Collaborative Projects Manager
>>>>> Georgia Public Library Service/PINES
>>>>> 1800 Century Place, Ste. 580
>>>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=1800+Century+Place,+Ste.+580+Atlanta,+GA+30045&entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>>> Atlanta, GA 30045
>>>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=1800+Century+Place,+Ste.+580+Atlanta,+GA+30045&entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> 404.548.4241 Cell
>>>>> ehardy at georgialibraries.org
>>>>> Helpdesk: http://help.georgialibraries.org
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Aug 9, 2018 at 5:23 PM, Janet Schrader <jschrader at cwmars.org>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> +1 to holdings.
>>>>>> I like that because it's consistent with "Holdings transfer" and can
>>>>>> be either a copy or a volume. Holdings should be familiar to any librarian
>>>>>> who used MARC record loads to create items 852 or 94x fields.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Janet Schrader
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Bibliographic Services Supervisor | CW MARS
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 67 Millbrook Street, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01606
>>>>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=67+Millbrook+Street,+Suite+201,+Worcester,+MA+01606&entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> P: 508-755-3323 x 325 | F: 508-757-7801
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ------------------------------
>>>>>>
>>>>>> jschrader at cwmars.org  ||  http;//cwmars.org <http://www.cwmars.org/>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, Aug 9, 2018 at 4:06 PM, Sarah Childs <
>>>>>> sarahc at zionsvillelibrary.org> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Wed, Aug 8, 2018 at 3:41 PM, Elaine Hardy <
>>>>>>> ehardy at georgialibraries.org> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I do like Holdings transfer. I think it is a good descriptor of
>>>>>>>> what we are doing with the functionality.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> A little quibble, though with not having the button labelled Add
>>>>>>>> volumes and copies. I realize that is cumbersome, however, it is more
>>>>>>>> descriptive, especially from a cataloger's point of view.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Maybe it should be labeled "Add Holdings"?   Then it's distinct from
>>>>>>> both Add Volumes and Add Copies.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Sarah Childs
>>>>>>> Technical Services Department Head
>>>>>>> Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library
>>>>>>> 250 North Fifth Street
>>>>>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=250+North+Fifth+Street+%0D%0AZionsville,+IN+46077&entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>>>>> Zionsville, IN 46077
>>>>>>> 317-873-3149 x13330
>>>>>>> sarahc at zionsvillelibrary.org
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Mary Llewellyn
>>> Database Manager
>>> Bibliomation, Inc.
>>> 24 Wooster Ave.
>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=24+Wooster+Ave.+Waterbury,+CT+06708&entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> Waterbury, CT 06708
>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=24+Wooster+Ave.+Waterbury,+CT+06708&entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> mllewell at biblio.org
>>>
>>
>>
>
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